First Google. Now Verizon. The multibillion-dollar telecommunications giant debuted a new stripped-down version of its logo this week. The leaner, cleaner updated look marks the company’s first visual refresh in 15 years.

If you think the new emblem is neither clever nor flashy, and we’re betting you do, you’re right. It’s plain and simple by design, even bordering on boring. More importantly, it’s scalable.

"There definitely is some inherent flexibility with it," Verizon spokesperson Kim Ancin told AdWeekyesterday. "It's not as difficult to reproduce, so that makes it an affordable option for us. It's cleaner and neater and kind of the direction that we're going. It's about being simple."

The no-frills new logo, drafted by the global design house Pentagram, retains Verizon’s signature high-contrast black and stop sign red color scheme, though it’s smaller and shows off only one slight splash of crimson. The big, bold red check mark that once appeared above the lowercase logotype is history, and, along with it, the oversized red “z” in Verizon. Instead, a thin red check mark appears to the right of the letter “n,” like an exponent symbol in math.

It’s as a nod to the past and a hint at the future. That’s how Verizon frames the change, at least.

“At its most basic level, the new logo is a visual statement that honors our history and reflects an identity that stands for simplicity, honesty and joy in a category rife with confusion, disclaimers and frustration,” a Verizon statement heralding the mod reads. “It’s a cleaner, more human design and the checkmark, the universal symbol for getting things done, uniquely expresses the reliability of Verizon.”

As expected, there’s no shortage of criticism of the notably bland refresh on Twitter, including a predictably hot-headed burn from the spark plug CEO of one of Verizon’s fiercest competitors. T-Mobile’s John Legere did not disappoint. He wasted no time in tweeting out the refreshed logo, trailed by a fittingly check-marked list of the ways he claims Verizon “screws over” customers. Uh, maybe he should check himself before he wrecks himself.

Kim Lachance Shandrow

Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributo...